Don’t be afraid to fail

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Life would not be the same if everything was perfect. Actually I reckon it would be dull and boring. Our species thrive on trial and error. It is how we got here and is probably how we will advance as time goes on. We have created a culture among ourselves that frowns and stigmatises failure, even when it’s unnecessary. This is especially true when it comes to the youth. Whenever their actions or accomplishments do not meet those of society, they are labeled as a failure.

It’s very discouraging and sad when that happens. Some people work hard and give everything they could to get somewhere in life, or to reach a certain level of success. Only for them to get it and meet a barrage of criticism for not achieving more or working harder. Then all of a sudden they are failures in the eyes of society. It discourages those that have not tried and kills the spirit of those that are still trying.

Failure is a part of life as it is a part of success. Everything that is successful has elements of failure in it. Even our independence was attainted through a constant series of failures, petitions, strikes and UN resolutions. All initially failed when they were initiated. However, their failures all contributed to the end goal of independence. This goes to show how useful failure could be in the long run.

There are many young people that have great ideas and big dreams, but they never put them out in the world because of the fear of failure and its consequences that are imposed and driven by society. The youth are an innovative group of people. I personally witnessed this at the Kasi Vibe festival and the ICT summit recently. Both were driven by the youth’s innovation and creativity. Their successes showed what could happen if fear of failure was removed from the equation.
We shouldn’t be afraid to fail. It might be the best thing we could do for ourselves. As for those that discourage and stoke the flames of unnecessary fear of failure, it’s not really helping anyone. It probably has the opposite effect for those that are determined.

Life was meant to be lived anyway, make it fun. Incorporate failure, learn and move on, because at the end of the day, it’s you that’s going to answer for all the things you did or didn’t do. You can’t blame failure at the end of day.
*Olavi Popyeinawa has a diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution and is currently studying law, LLB at the University of Namibia (Unam). He will weekly be contributing this column on youth mattersInstagram: niceguy_olavi Facebook: Olavi Longfellow Twitter: @OlaviPopyeinawa